'Pokémon Go' Rarest Pokémon: What are the toughest Pokémon to catch in Gen 2?
The Johto update of Pokémon Go added 80 new Pokémon to Niantic's popular mobile game. Even if you're not too keen on proximity trading or an inevitable player-versus-player update, that still means there are currently 226 Pokémon to catch — 146 from Gen 1 and 80 from Gen 2, according to IGN — in order to fill out your Pokédex. However, even with biweekly Nest Migrations, it can be a little hard to find some of the rarer Pokémon, even in Gen 2.
Now that the Johto update has had a little more time to settle, we've got the lowdown on the updated relative rarities of Gen 2 Pokémon.
Pokémon Go rarest Pokémon: The current Gen 2 ranking
We've excised the Gen 1 Pokémon from these rankings, but according to EuroGamer, the current rarity rankings for Gen 2 — ignoring evolved forms — are as follows, as of about a month ago:
Everywhere: Sentret, Swinub, Hoothoot, Ledyba
Common: Spinarak, Murkrow, Wooper, Natu, Marill, Hoppip, Remoraid, Sneasel
Uncommon: Chinchou, Sunkern, Aipom, Snubbull, Dunsparce, Teddiursa
Rare: Yanma, Slugma, Mantine, Sudowoodo, Pineco, Gligar, Shuckle, Phanpy, Skarmory, Qwilfish
Very Rare: Chikorita, Cyndaquill, Totodile, Misdreavus, Houndour, Larvitar
Extremely Rare: Miltank, Girafarig, Stantler, Mareep, Togetic, Hitmontop, Unown
Regional: Heracross, Corsola
Not Currently in the Game: Delibird, Smeargle
Obviously it's disheartening to see Gen 2 starters hanging out in the "very rare" category, because unlike Bulbasaur, Squirtle and Charmander, they don't hatch from eggs. Additionally, we should stress this list won't be for true for every player and every biome. We were even able to obtain a Teddiursa, who's listed as "uncommon," during Next Migration 17 in Chicago.
It's also more than a little disappointing to see Heracross and Corsola as region-specific Pokémon. Barring a trip to parts of the world where those Pokémon spawn, portions of your Pokédex are unlikely to get filled in.
That said, the broad strokes of this list are fairly accurate to what the bulk of players have reported — so until we see an event or update that drastically shakes up the availability of Pokémon in each region, you're probably going to be catching a lot of Hoothoots and Swinubs for the foreseeable future.
More Pokémon Go news, updates, tips and tricks
Check out Mic's Pokémon Go guides on how to get stardust, how to determine how long it will take you to reach level 40, the kind of Pokémon you get from 10-kilometer eggs, how to create new PokéStops, how to maximize your chances of catching Pokémon and how PokéStops distribute Pokémon eggs. Also check out how to catch Gen 2 baby Pokémon, our analysis of post-balance update Chansey and Rhydon and everything you need to know about finding the long-awaited Pokémon Ditto.
